The politics of tax pledges

12/3/12 10:27 AM EST

When it comes to the fiscal cliff negotiations, some Republicans are sticking to their anti-tax hike pledges. Others are leaving some wiggle room. A few more either never signed the pledge, or blame the media for focusing undue attention on the issue.

Then there are those who dodge the issue entirely by not responding to queries.

Those are the findings of a PoliticsPA survey of the Pennsylvania GOP delegation, one of the more sizable Republican contingents in Congress.

While Pennsylvania Republicans have a wide range of responses to the question of where they stand on the Americans for Tax Reform pledge, none come close to the hair-splitting position offered by New York GOP Rep. Chris Gibson last week.

Gibson, a defector from Grover Norquist’s no new taxes pledge last week, stands alone so far with his creative effort to extricate himself from the pledge he signed in 2010.

Gibson essentially asserts that the tax pledge no longer applies to him since he signed it as the representative of the 20th District – and, as a result of the most recent round of redistricting, he now represents the 19th District. He does not plan to re-sign the pledge as the congressman from the 19th..

According to a statement released last week, Gibson remains “opposed to increasing the marginal rates for individuals and businesses and has voted against this as a standalone measure; however, he will consider all comprehensive packages brought forward as a result of bipartisan negotiations.”

So, technically, he’s not breaking the pledge – at least not according to the exact language of the document, which specifies the exact district in which a legislator sits.